Curators

physical computing

Amnon Dekel

Design Assistant

Shoham Zak

“Normally Open – Normally Closed”, part of the installation at the exhibition “Promised Design”

“Normally Open – Normally Closed”, named for the on or off operation of electronic equipment, was comprised of four basic items: a folding chair, a desk-shelf unit, a standard lamp, and a coffee table. All of the items could be remotely and mechanically changed from two to three dimensional positions – or from static (stored away) to dynamic (in use) positions. The change in the form or position of the furniture change demanded a reassessment of its function. Also, combining the items created a territory or a home environment that became familiar and normal. And the environment thus became dynamic, adjusting to its surroundings and to the people who existed in it.

The exhibition corresponded to a fine-art still-life composition but could be changed from an arrangement of lifeless objects to beings with souls. The articles of furniture in the exhibition were like actors on a stage, interacting between the audience and the articles. The objects were activated by a red laser beam that responded to the movements of the spectator.

Tarazi explains, “The objects had electric motors that reacted to their surroundings and changed when they folded and unfolded. These static objects had their own existence and were infused with an autonomous internal energy that reacted to certain situations. They expanded the concept of “immobilized living instruments”, like televisions, computers and telephones that emit sounds, groans, or sighs. They were animated furniture pieces with will of their own – opening and closing automatically – with poetic as well as ironic sides, much like the “intelligent house” or the house as a machine”.